A staff member at Lethbridge’s supervised consumption site was struck by multiple paintball pellets to her body, including her face, hands, chest and back, while protecting two clients outside of the non-descript facility early Saturday morning.

Covered in paintball residue and with bruises forming, the employee is rattled and angry, much like the rest of the staff and clientele at the busiest supervised drug-use site in Alberta, said ARCHES executive director Stacey Bourque.

“Can you imagine standing outside in the dark and a truck comes to a slow roll beside you, cracks the window down and sticks a gun barrel out the window? They had no idea what it was until they started firing,” said Bourque.

“I’m angry. I’m sad. I’m disgusted with some members of our community thinking that that is acceptable behaviour.”

Lethbridge police are now investigating the drive-by paintball shooting as a potential assault with a weapon that left the ARCHES employee with bruises and cuts.

The incident comes days after councillors in the city, 212 km southeast of Calgary, rejected a motion that called for a halt in funding to the supervised consumption site.

Police said just after midnight, a white Dodge truck drove past the site along the 1000 block of 1 Avenue South and fired multiple paintballs at several people in the area.

It’s not the first, or even the second, threatening incident to take place following the vote.

Bourque said they have experienced four this week, including instances in which people have thrown items at staff and clients, and yelled profanities, names and threats. Separately, a black employee who attended a needle pick-up was confronted by a member of the community and subjected to racial slurs while being videoed by the antagonist, Bourque added.

In the past, Bourque said people at the site have been sprayed with mace and fire extinguishers, and there was an incident in which someone threw firecrackers into the building and said ‘hit the deck.’ The campaign of opposition to the site has been traumatizing, she said, and something Bourque has only seen escalate in recent weeks.

“We’ve been watching the issue become more divisive,” she said. “By no means do I think this is the end of it. I think some people take a look at this and say it’s getting out of hand and need to step back but others will feel emboldened by it.”

Bourque said no other health care provider faces the same amount of criticism experienced by supervised consumption sites, and despite evidence proving the benefits of the facilities, people are spreading misinformation, making baseless accusations and letting their opinions cloud the importance of places like ARCHES.

Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman also denounced what he calls “cowardly” actions against the site.

“Recently, the issue of harm reduction has caused debate and been divisive in our community. Peaceful protest and freedom of speech are cornerstones of our society,” he said in a statement Saturday. “We as city council respect democracy, but condemn violent acts against anyone at ARCHES.”

Surveillance video showed the culprits in a white, newer-model Dodge quad cab with a hard top box cover, black rims and a stock “RAM” emblem across the back tailgate, however due to the vehicle’s speed, its licence plate number was unrecognizable.

Lethbridge Police are asking anyone who recognizes this vehicle to contact local authorities after inhabitants of the truck were allegedly involved in a drive-by paintball shooting targeting the Lethbridge supervised consumption site on Saturday, Aug. 24.Calgary

Lethbridge’s lone supervised drug consumption site has seen substantial use numbers compared to a similar site in Calgary, averaging 675 visits per day compared to only 142 in Calgary.

Lethbridge councillors, swayed by a Supreme Court of Canada’s decision that said supervised consumption sites, based on the evidence, were beneficial for health, ultimately determined the site was crucial, said Spearman earlier this week.

Bourque said there are security personnel on site 24 hours a day, cameras around the premise and multiple staff on shift at the same time. They are potentially adding more security measures in the coming weeks but she fears there’s no sure way to protect against these acts.

“People that are looking for an opportunity to harm people will find it, no matter how much security you put in place,” said Bourque.

She said she hopes the people responsible for Saturday’s drive-by paintball incident are found and held responsible for their actions.

Police are asking anyone who recognizes the vehicle or has information on the incident to contact police at 403-328-4444 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.calgarycrimestoppers.org

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